Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Winky Dink Dragged Through the Mud!

The good name of one of my TV cartoon heroes of the 1950s is tarnished forever! The alleged mistress of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has written a book, hoping to recoup some of the dough which her boyfriend bilked her out of. The illustrious New York Daily News reports that Sheryl Weinstein said of Madoff,
He was a "good kisser,"...who gave her a "welcoming smile (she'd)never forget" the moment they met. She even came up with a code name for him - "Mr. Winky Dink" - based on his nervous blinking.
Oh, pity poor Winky Dink, who never wanted anything but for young children to absorb emissions from primitive cathode ray tubes as they sat frighteningly close to their televisions and drew on their magic screens with their magic crayons. We should draw him a magic grave so he can roll over in it as he receives this news.

5 comments:

#167 Dad said...

It's a wonder any children survived the 50...

MyMaracas said...

I didn't think I could possibly have missed a TV show from the 50's, but apparently I did miss Winky Dink.

The earliest TV shows I remember are Ding Dong School and Captain Kangaroo. Maybe Winky was a little before my time. ;-)

Dan Cory said...

Haha....draw him a magic grave so he can roll over in it. Hilarious!

Unknown said...

Pater CLXVII,
Car seats? We don't need no stinkin' car seats!

Maraca,
The original show ran from '53 to '57. A revival was attempted from 1969 to 1973. It was a lame attempt IMHO, because the producers tried to modernize the Winky Dink character to look more like a normal boy, and the star on his head morphed into hair that sort of looked like a banana peel fell on his head. Part of the charm of the original, again IMHO, was the improbable appearance of Winky Dink. According to Wikipedia, it wasn't the pathetic Winky Dink character, ver. 2.0 that killed the show but "...the show's production was halted despite its modest popularity due to concerns about radiation in television sets affecting children and because of parents' complaints about children drawing on the screen."

Dan,
Thanks. Where else can you learn such a volume of useless information but from your old man?

Rambling Woods said...

I heard the mistress say that in an interview...LOL...